Emotional and Informational Content of Commercials: Visual and Auditory Circumplex Spaces, Product Information and Their Effects on Audience Evaluation

Abstract The present pilot research determines commercials' visual and auditory circumplex space of affective states and the influence of both emotional and informative content and of their running time in an audience's evaluation of TV commercials. A key methodological factor takes into account, on the one hand, the measurement of emotional content as expression of affective states and, on the other, the distinctions made between the auditory and visual characteristics of commercials. Results show, visual and auditory emotional circumplex spaces of commercials which are rich, positive and active, and a conceptualization of visual emotional richness. On the other hand, results also show a positive influence of visual emotional richness in commercials evaluation as entertaining or exciting. Also, as previous research has shown, there is a positive influence of information content in commercial evaluation as informative.

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